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Post by ohblondie on Jul 22, 2014 7:27:00 GMT -5
DOOR IS IN!!!! Pictures to follow.......
Now I can get back to the rest of my list......Need to add to the list- Clean Kitchen. Even with our fence - the way things line up - our bakyard neighbors can see directly into the kitchen. So it must be spotless. Or at least better than it is now. NO more hiding boxes behind the island. I should have ordered that privacy glass. Where you can see out - but it reflets in a way that no one can see in.
May/Early June: *Clear clutter behind kitchen island (about 10 boxes)Much of it is paper that needs to be filed. I have about 6 black filing crates that I was using. Much can be tossed only some will be saved. *Replace triple window in kitchen with sliding doors to the deck.*Get pool opened *Get back yard tidied...OK- dehoarded.
June 14th: DD graduates from grad school
June 21: Grad school graduation party at house*
Sliding door needs to be installed by then. *Pool clean and yard immaculate *Kitchen and downstairs needs to be presentable. We will find another venue in case of rain.
JULY/AUG/SEPT: Get upstairs 2nd bathroom empried (currently used as storage) Get upstairs hallway decluttered REMODEL BOTH BATHROOMS UPSTAIRS!!!!!
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Post by flotsam on Jul 24, 2014 13:00:24 GMT -5
I'm happy for you that the door is in, ohblondie! Congratulation on ticking off half of your jobs, Diane. You rock! It's so motivating to see how consistent you are working on your goals, never giving up, dealing with things as they come. Diane, renters here are usually obligated to do the walls every few years (paint, wallpaper or both), so I had no choice but to learn it (can't afford to pay someone else). Made one more try to decide on a color for the bathroom. Color 1: "beach". Sort of beige, but not boring beige, instead soft, fresh and warm at the same time. Available in a small pot (1 l = 0.26 gal, enough for my tiny bathroom). Tiny test bottle available. Color 2: "fossil". Soft, light gray. Available only in a large pot (5 l = 1.32 gal) so I would "have to" use it for the entryway and the kitchen, too. No tiny test bottle available. Or something totally different? I want a light color. Even flipping a coin doesn't help . I want to paint in August, as early as possible, so I would have enough time to do more if possible.
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Post by ohblondie on Jul 25, 2014 9:43:09 GMT -5
OK - updated my list. But I noticed - replacing the door created a whole new list of items to do.
*Hang up ALL hooks on the wall and all items on hool that door repair guy took down to put in the new back door *Put back hallway in order after door guy took everything out in the yard (While this is added work - it is also an opportunity to weed thru stuff and reorganize shelves - but it all got left out in the rain...ugh) *deep clean kitchen floor as it is all dusty and gritty *put kitchen island back. (reposition?) *Put items back (that I had taken down so that they would not get broken) *wipe down kitchen from said dust and grit.
Bathrooms are on hold til the fall.
Flotsam - I found a pretty paint color Sherwin WIlliams 2834 Birds Eye Maple. I am looking at SW0542 Ruskin Room Green for my kitchen and the SW2834 was paired with it.
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 25, 2014 10:26:28 GMT -5
Lucie, thank you, you're right, the food was not hard to throw away--in fact, other than my thinking about how much money I was wasting, it felt really freeing to just throw everything into garbage bags. I still have some work to do on food in the kitchen, but the actual pantry is done! Ohblondie, I'm so happy that your door is finally in, but unfortunately that's the way--get one thing done, you end up with a bunch of other jobs that branch off from it. And like me and my pantry moths, maybe this is a good opportunity to let a few more things go and to make things more functional. Flotsam, thank you for your kind words. That's amazing that renters by you are the ones obligated to paint the walls! Here renters COULD paint, but they would have to get permission from the landlord to do it. And, although landlords aren't required to repaint, renters that live in the same apartment for many years might request that the their places be painted--I don't know how often the landlords agree. Certainly, most apartments are painted in between tenants unless they were there only a year and caused no wear and tear at all. But it's the landlord's responsibility to do the painting. I like light colors too, dark ones make the rooms look too small. And being a cool weather person, I like cool colors! I still have two shelves to work on in my kitchen, and after that I'll be done. I kept all the canned and bottled goods in the pantry, wiped everything down, and washed out all plastic containers. All other food was thrown out. I will now have to move and inspect things on the shelves every week for a while, to make sure I didn't miss any eggs that are turning into larva. I didn't wash every inch of everything, but I did inspect things for visible signs of moths. So I think I did pretty well so far. In between, I've also been working on my office supplies, because I can't seem to only have one project going at once! Actually, I had needed something from the file cabinet where I keep office supplies, so I had to look through them, that started me on a purge/reorganization. I'm getting rid of a few things, not as many as I'd like. I also found one drawer in that cabinet that had paper files in it--many are gone now, and some were old work calendars--I thought I had finished with that! I put those on my desk, I will look through them to see if there are any notable events/dates I want to write down, then get rid of them. I was able to clear out one of the drawers completely. I would say I'm about 2/3 done with office supplies so far. Diane
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Post by sidestep on Jul 25, 2014 11:09:33 GMT -5
Congrats on getting the door in, ohblondie! Congrats to the rest of the Summer Goals Challengers! I weeded near the area of the dilapidated dresser the other day & tossed 2 items destroyed by the elements. A paint can spray topper (holds a spray can in the on-position) & a rolling paint edger. So, with ~ 40 days to make my personal Labor Day goal I'm at least getting closer, ! Good luck with choosing a paint color, flotsam! Congrats with all you've achieved on your kitchen pantry project, dtesposito& good luck with your kitchen & book projects!
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Post by ohblondie on Jul 25, 2014 11:44:38 GMT -5
Oh Diane......Pantry Moths. I feel your pain. We have had them and I hated when my hands would brush up against the webby things. I should take this as an opportunity to clean out my cupboards as well. I brushed up against a webby thing the other day....I might have them back. Do ou have little moths flying around? When I find food in my daughters room (usually crushed cookies or nuts) I often find the moths in her room.
We had to empty the entire pantry (All six shelves) and wipe them down. We had to use something to mix in the water that we used to wipe the inside of the cabinet with.....I will look it up. BORAX!!!!! I mixed borax and warm water and wiped every inch of the cupboard out.
I had to check every box (cake mix pasta) to see if they had worked their way in. When I held up the bags of brownie mix I could see the little webby things inside the sealed package!!! Ugh.... I had several bags of flour in the back bottom of the cupboard. In anticipation of the life I would lead baking perfect chirstmas cookies..... there were a ton in there.
I had to wipe down everything before I put it back in. I put all of my nuts for baking in the freezer and put bread crumbs in the fridge. I put the rice and sugar and flour in tight tupperware containers. I DO NOT buy ahead on flour UNLESS I am planning to bake that weekend. Cereal goes in tupperware or rubbermaid containers. FOr a long time I did not even keep cereal in that cupboard - I left it on teh counter on the opposite side of the kitchen. When I open a package - if I think it might attact the bugs - I put any unused portion in a ziploc bag. I also try to not get too backed up on cake and brownie mixes. I dont bake as much as I used to when the kids were in school - so there is no need to stockpile it.
From what I have read - you have things well under control...And two projects at once- WOW!
Now I want to go home and work on my kitchen.......
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 25, 2014 20:28:35 GMT -5
Do you have little moths flying around?I did, that's what alerted me to them, I didn't notice the larva and webs into the food until I started looking for them. I first saw a moth or two a few weeks ago, and didn't think anything about it--I have an occasional moth or fly in here, the flies bother me so I try to get them out, but a moth--I didn't think twice about it. This building has lots of spiders and house centipedes, and the occasional waterbug so a couple of tiny moths didn't freak me out. Then one day I went into the pantry and there were 3-4 of them flying around in there and it dawned on me what they were--ugh--I had them before and know they mean a huge cleanup and a lot of work. Yes, I'm finding the larva in closed boxes, so I ended up just throwing everything out. I will have to make a better effort to keep more things in the freezer and fridge, and I'm trying to figure out what kind of containers are totally impregnable (hmm, when was the last time I used that word??). I'm making a lot of progress though, I think the majority of them are out now. Diane
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Post by imamess on Jul 25, 2014 21:25:01 GMT -5
Impregnable containers: I use tupperware for flour, meal, & sugar. After freezing rice and bringing it back to room temperature, I keep it in a half gallon mason jar. I also keep quick oats, plain flour and various noodles in mason jars.
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 26, 2014 8:47:37 GMT -5
Hi Ima--you know, I was looking at Target to see if they had any food containers that looked good but didn't find any--then I looked down and saw they were selling a case box of canning jars--and I thought--maybe I should buy those--if they close well enough to keep stuff safe after canning, they should keep pantry moths out! But I didn't buy them.
I read once somewhere that bugs can get in through grooves on a screw top jar and thought--that can't be right, not if it's closed properly and the lid isn't warped or damaged in some way.
I'm going to think about the canning jar possibility again. Could I put a canning jar in the freezer as long as it didn't have something in it that would expand when frozen? Or would that damage the lid somehow? I guess I wouldn't need to use jars for the freezer though, it would probably work better to use some kind of plastic in the freezer.
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 26, 2014 18:53:31 GMT -5
Pantry is done! Kitchen food shelves are done! All moths/larva/eggs/webs that I could find are out. I'm sure I'll see more adults, but hopefully they're ones already hatched, not from some hidden eggs. Any more adults will be sent out also.
This really was a gift, because there's no way I would have gotten rid of all the food without it. And yes, if it wasn't for the moths I would have been able to save some money, but in the end, I think it was worth it to have a fresh start.
Technically I'm not done with the food purging since I still have to clean my freezer and fridge out, but that will be no effort at all compared to the pantry cleanout. I'm giving myself the next two days to complete the freezer and fridge, that should be plenty of time.
After that--I guess I'll take stock of where I left off with the office supplies and continue on with those.
Diane
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Post by flotsam on Jul 27, 2014 8:31:50 GMT -5
Ohblondie, I like natural soft colors too -- so soothing to the eye! Ruskin Room Green doesn't look like green at all on my computer . Diane, here we have the system you describe only in dormitories/student housing (wording?). Otherwise the renters are responsible. We have to do it every few years (depends on the room) and either when moving in or when moving out. Nowadays it's more often required when moving in -- much more sensible because then the new renters can decide what they want. Many did it in the past when moving in nonetheless, and they would have to work double if they had to paint when moving out -- totally useless if the new renters then painted with another color. For me it had also sort of a therapeutic effect: while painting for the first time I felt I made the apartment "home", not just a place to sleep in. Congratulation on getting the pantry done! Good work weeding and tossing things out, sidestep! I'm almost sure I'll choose the soft grey -- the big pot may even be an advantage because I won't have to make more decisions for the kitchen and the entryway. Yesterday I went to the hardware store again to look one more time at the colors before I'll buy the paint next week. I only bought some supplies like foam rollers and varnish for some shelves. I have everything else I'll need at home.
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Post by ohblondie on Jul 28, 2014 7:39:52 GMT -5
Diane,
I dont know what got a hold of me - but saturday (after the funeral at church) and before I knew it - my entire pantry was on the floor of my kitchen! My daughter sat with me. I wiped out the cuprboard and found a few webby things and some dead moths.
Put flour in the tupperware container. Combined several opened bags of rice into a container.
reorganized the shelves - grouping like items together. (It starts organized but gets jumbled quickly) Tossed some outdated food.
THis came in handy when I was making salads on sunday for a grad party. I knew we had an extra jar of mayo and that I had a bottle of red wine vinegar!
Now on to the fridge and freezer....
You can't walk thru my living room but my pantry is neat and organized!!
Flotsam - I wonder why the green does not look green on your computer. It is such a soft green - so pretty.
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Post by flotsam on Jul 29, 2014 13:25:48 GMT -5
ohblondie, I went to the Sherwin Williams site and type "ruskin room green" into the search box. Then I got this site. The color looks grey to me.
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Post by ohblondie on Jul 30, 2014 7:34:29 GMT -5
Oh my goodness....I saw it on Pinterest and it was much more green than that. THis is definitely a gray with greenish undertones. I almost like the one under it, Leapfrog?. So sorry to keep insisting it was more green.....Now to find that pinterest post. That will be like looking for a needle in a haystack......
Got the island back in the middle of the kitchen. Then there was much discussion on the placement...centered or to the right; parallel or perpindicular to the window. closer to the fridge or closer to the door; What to do with the recycle bins that were under the window. THe only thing that has a happy and permanent home are the two plants!
Got it cleared off and found homes for items. Condensed contents of mostly empty boxes. Played cards for awhile. THen I woke up this am to find an empty pizza box; a used glass and something else on the island!!! GRRRRRRR.....
Son got a notice from the town that he has three days to remove three junked cars from our driveway. THis is such a snooty town. If they had gotten off their butts and looked at the cars they would have seen that two of the cars have plates and are registered and on the road. Only one is a junked car and we have been on him for months to get rid of the car. One of the roadworthy cars is a "beater" and it looks like it should be junked. But the town has no right to tell him what he can and cannot drive. Unless they want to pay for it!
THe town came yesterday to take down a tree alongside the road as the tree was rotting from the inside out. The tree was on the town right of way and in our town, you need to get permission to take down a tree. So we notified hte town a few years ago that the tree was bad - they have been monitoring it - and yesterday they took it down. ANd what a coincidence - we g0t the notice of violation!
We moved here because the schools were so good - but the kids are all graduated so I guess it is time to move!! Or for them and all of their crap to move!!
TOnight I will go to the gym for my HIIT workout class. THen I will come home and focus on the kitchen counters. They are a jumbled mess of bags of bread, a bag of chips and an old birthday cake and other assorted stuff. I would love the have the counters as clear and nice looking as the island.
Meeting with the dietician at my dr's office this afternoon. Looking forward to seeing if I lost any weight from my exercise regime and to get my eating on track.
Have a good day everyone!!!
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 30, 2014 9:11:58 GMT -5
Ohblondie, great work on your pantry, sounds like you don't have an active infestation, and you're preventing one by putting things in containers. Your kitchen island sounds great, I wish I had room for one--it's hard to find any room here to work on anything, I have to use the DR table for food preparation. You'll get the rest of the kitchen stuff sorted out, get your family to help. I did finish my freezer and fridge, so the pantry food part of my goal is done. I know for a fact that that category would not have gotten done if it weren't for the moths, so it feels a little fraudulent to claim it as done. However, it WAS a lot of work and did take a lot of time. It just feels like it was something I HAD to do, not something I CHOSE to do, like the rest of the goal. I really don't have a good idea how much work there is to do on my office supplies--I feel like once again, I did more reorganizing than purging of the supplies. Although I did purge paper files to make room for the supplies, and as long as things are fitting into their storage I guess it's okay. I have a box of stuff in the closet of my 2nd BR that has more office supplies, and I'm debating about whether or not to get it out and open it up. I labeled it when I put it away a few years ago, it's thing that you don't need often but when you do it's nice to have them--things like file organizers, binder pages, and similar items. I do need those sometimes, and they're expensive, so I don't want to get rid of all of them. I imagine I could purge some of them, but not enough to get rid of the box altogether, so it feels like I should just leave the box alone for now. I'll look again at the cabinet I organized a couple of weeks ago and review what's in there and decide. Diane
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